The short version
I own seven physical Derby Owners Club arcade machines. The files here were dumped
from my own hardware, for my own preservation. The game is still under copyright,
so I host this on my own server, on its own domain (not GitHub, not Google Drive,
not a big platform), and I want to be straight with you about why.
Why not GitHub (or Drive, or a Discord upload)
Derby Owners Club is still owned by Sega. Public platforms like GitHub, Google Drive,
Archive.org, and most file hosts will take copyrighted game files down the moment a
rights holder asks. That is a “DMCA takedown,” and it happens
whether or not you own
the machine. Worse, repeated complaints can get your entire
account suspended.
I use GitHub and those services for real work in my professional life. I am not willing
to risk that over a hobby preservation project. So this lives on a small server I control,
walled off from everything else I do.
The legal part (please actually read this)
Here is the honest truth: I am comfortable with
my copy because I own the actual
cabinets, so to me this is a backup of hardware I paid for and physically have. I am
not a lawyer, and copyright law around game backups is genuinely murky even for owners.
You probably do not own these machines. If you don't, downloading these files may not
be legal where you live. I can't make that call for you.
Please download at your own risk, and know your local laws.
If you love this game, the best thing you can do is support official Sega releases if and
when they happen. I am not making a cent from this. No ads, no donations, nothing.
This is preservation, not profit.
Why a separate, isolated domain
If a copyright complaint ever does land, I would much rather it hit this little
corner, a single subdomain that does nothing but host this one thing, than my main
projects, my business, or my livelihood. Keeping it isolated means that if it is ever
taken down, the only thing that disappears is this page. Nothing else I care about is touched.
Why bother at all
Derby Owners Club is a strange, wonderful, nearly-lost arcade game. Getting it running
again, with the linked satellite cabinets and all, took a lot of reverse-engineering and
stubborn tinkering. I am sharing it so other fans can experience it again, the way we
remember it. If Sega ever brings it back,
buy it. Until then, this is here for the
people who remember it.
Ride on.
John
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